Heelless overshoe.



C. S. GOODYEAR.

HEELLESS OVERSHUE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18. 1915.

1 208,772. Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

WITNESS: INVENTOR 671122 0 55 04 9 HIS ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLINTON S. GOODYEAR, OF NAUGATUCK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO L CANDEE & COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

HEELLESS OVERSHOE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 18, 1915. Serial No. 34,777.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CLINTON S. GOODYEAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Naugatuck, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heelless Overshoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to rubber overshoes and more specifically to overshoes of the heelless type and has for an object to provide a heelless overshoe which will not slip down at the back upon the inner shoe over which it is worn. I

The counter of the ordinary heelless overshoe is constructed to tightly fit the counter of the inner shoe, so that friction with the inner shoe counter will hold it in place. It has been found, however, that such frictional engagement is ineifectual in accomplishing its purpose, for when the wearer steps forward in walking, the leather shoe has a tendency to push forward in the toe of the overshoe and thereby slacken the counter which consequently works down and must be pulled up from time to time. To obviate this annoyance, I provide the elastic counter of the overshoe with an integral elastic thickened foothold which extends above the top edge of the counter and is formed with a reinforcin head on its inner face. As a result of t is construction, the foothold will fit above the stiff counter of the inner shoe upon whi :h it may be worn, and due to its increased thickness will have greater tension under the same amount of stretch than the counter, thereby promoting the protrusion of the stiif counter underneath the foothold to support the foothold against slipping down, this tension ofthe foothold being further enhanced, due to the stiffness imarted to the foothold by the reinforcing head. This bead furthermore is preferably positioned to extend diagonall acrossthe foothold so as to reinforce an stilfen the foothold throughout and at the same time form a ledge which indents the inner shoe somewhat above the stiff counter and thereby forms a seat for itself above the stiff counter of the inner shoe whereby slipping down of thefoothold is practically obviated. I The invention will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ladys shoe equipped with an overshoe embodying my mvcntion; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the last upon which the overshoe is built with the overshoe shown in section; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a diagonal location of the reinforcing bead.

Referring to the drawing, 9 designates a ladys shoe to which the heelless overshoe 10 is applied. The overshoe comprises a lining 11, a vamp 12, a sole 13, which terminates at the rear end in a shank 14, a counter 15, the bottom edge 16 of which is free and coacts with the free rear edge 17 of the shank in forming a heel opening, a foothold 18, which extends above the top edge of the counter, and a reinforcing head 19 extending diagonally across the inner face of the foothold. The foothold, counter and bead may be formed of an integral piece or separate pieces which flow together and become integral during vulcanization.

In building the overshoe the lining 11, vamp l2, sole 13, counter 15, foothold 18 and head 19, are assembled upon a last 20, the same having a depression 21 in the back to receive the foothold which is formed of greater thickness than the counter, the inner wall of this recess gradually merging into the sides of the shank of the last whereby the ramp and foothold will conform smoothly to the inner shoe shank or instep. The last is further formed with a recess22 which receives the bead 1.9 as shown best in Fig. 2, and permits of the foothold and counter being shaped smoothly to the configuration of the back of thelast. The lining 11 terminates slightly in rear of the shank of the sole as shown at 23, the two-fold object of this being to leave the bend and foothold completely exposed to-betterlseat above the stiff counter of the inner shoe and to strengthen the joint at the intersection of the. sole and counterof the overshoe. The various materials mentioned are pressed into a compact homogeneous form and shaped to the configuration of the last in the usual manner.

When a heelless overshoe constructed as above described is fitted over an inner shoe, the elasticcounter will fit the counter 24 of the strain is concentrated on the foothol The pressureof the foothold will promote the tendency of the stiff counter edge of the inner shoe to protrude underneath the foothold and support the latter against slipping down. The tight seating of the foothold above the stiff counter is enhanced by the protrusion of the head 19 which tends somewhat to indent the inner shoe and thereby form a seat for itself. The bead extends diagonally across the foothold as best shown in Fig. 3, thus stiffening and strengthening the foothold throughout to resist distortion, the eifect of this being to promote unwillingness to yield in the foothold as the wearer steps forward with consequent tendency to slacken of the counter as above described, so that the foothold Will remain permanently in position and thus.positively prevent Working down of the back of the overshoe upon the back of the inner shoe over which it is Worn.

What is claimed is:

1. An over-shoe having an elastic foothold constructedto extend above the stiff counter of an inner shoe, and a bead projecting from the inner face of the foothold, and extending diagonally across the foothold to reinforce and stiffen the same throughout.-

A rubber o'vershoe embodying a vamp, a sole terminating at the rear end in a shank, a counter constructed to extend to the top edge of the counter of an inner shoe, the bottom edge of the counter and the rear edge of the shank being free and coacting in defining a heel opening, a foothold extending above the top edge of the counter, and a head projecting from the inner face of the foothold, and extending diagonally across the foothold to reinforce and stiffen the same throughout.

Signed at New York, Y., June 16th,

- CLINTON S. GOODYEAR. 

